Abusive Husbands

Was wrongfully confined or restrained by a family member against their will

Was continually harassed with intent to cause agony and distress by a family member. This can include verbal abuse, psychological or emotional abuse

Women who are trapped in marriages with an abusive husband can now have recourse under the Women’s Charter. They can seek help from a court of law to get restraining orders against their abusive spouses, such as a Personal Protection Order, Domestic Exclusion Order or an Expedited Order to be granted before a divorce trial. While most of the cases involve incidences of physical abuse, these women also need protection from psychological abuse from the men in their lives.

The Women’s Charter delineates physical abuse as:

Physical acts, including acts like punching, choking, kicking, pushing, slapping, bruising or hitting with an object

Denying the victim food, water, shelter, sleep or medicine

Forcing unwanted sexual behaviour on the victim

Psychological abuse is defined as:

Insulting or humiliating a person

Intimidating the victim with threats, harassing them, screaming at them or destroying property

Using emotions to manipulate the victim, or emotional blackmail

Demeaning someone in front of others or in a public place

Monitoring and controlling a person’s activities and relationships

Persistent hostility towards the victim, including blatantly ignoring and rejecting them

Confining the victim in the home and stopping them from leaving and going elsewhere

Whether they eventually go ahead with legal proceedings like apply for a divorce or not, women facing family violence have several alternatives to seek aid:

Reporting to the police

Making a police report can be helpful if the wife decides later on to apply for legal protection

A police report can be made at any police posts but copies of the report should be kept for future references

Should the wife be suffering from emotional or verbal abuse, or from physical abuse that has left no obvious marks, it is then important to have either eyewitnesses to the abuse, or evidences such as texts or mails to prove the harassment

Getting medical attention

It is vital that a woman who has been physically abused seek medical attention immediately and disclose the true nature of the injury to the doctor. It is important that the victim not try to hide the cause of the injury, which is what most victims tend to, by saying that they had a fall or was involved in an accident. As all medical reports are confidential, they should not fear that their abuser may get a cop of the report

Should they wish to apply for protection order against the abusive husband, the victim will thus need to ask the doctor to write a medical report for the court. The medical receipt can also be used as evidence that they had to seek medical attention for the injuries sustained as a result of the abuse

Seek counselling

Talking to a counsellor can often times provide the emotional support that one needs to overcome the situation

Seek shelter in a crisis shelter

If the victim has no one they can turn to, a final option could be to seek shelter in a crisis shelter

The victim will have to have referrals from the police, family service centre or hospital social workers

The maximum duration a victim is able to seek aid at a shelter is 3 months

Seek legal protection

An abused wife can apply for a protection order against her abusive husband

A Personal Protection Order is only applicable where there is a domestic relationship between the victim and the aggressor

The Personal Protection Order can be used to order the aggressor to stop acts of violence against the victim, as well as assisting a family member to commit those acts of violence

SUBMIT YOUR DETAILS AND REQUIREMENTS IN THE FORM TO ARRANGE FOR A CONSULTATION WITH A DIVORCE LAWYER.